The Irish Countryman by Arensberg was a very interesting society in many aspects.

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Introduction

The Irish Countryman by Arensberg was a very interesting society in many aspects. Their way of life, their level of trust and respect, and their beliefs and priorities all make up the unique society that they all engage in. The Irish were very in touch with the spirit world both mentally and physically on a day to day basis. They continuously strived to please the fairies because they believed that if they behaved properly and morally correct, they will in turn be rewarded. They believed that everything happened for a reason and that nothing was a coincidence. Whether good or bad, if something happened it was because the spirits intended it to happen that way. They considered the people who are very dedicated and deeply in touch with Catholicism the good people. They were the ones that contribute to the community and treat themselves with respect. The Irish are deeply involved in religion because it gives them a sense of cohesion and a sense of humanity after the abuse the English put them through. At the same time, their dedication towards their religion gives them a sense of control as a whole. Their religion was a basis for their identity. Religion in a society, reflects society, rather than imposes itself on society. Every family committed to the market place in a peripheral way. ...read more.

Middle

If you don't have a son, usually there are blood relatives or other family's sons that you can adopt who come from less fortunate families. There was a situation where a man did not pass down his land to his nephew because he decided to keep it. Within time, there were shots fired into his house and he assumed it was his nephew doing it out of spite and resentment. A couple days later, his nephew was working in the field and was hit in the eye and blinded. Of course his nephew blamed his uncle and said he did it out of retaliation by getting in touch with the spirits. This was considered the Old Man's Curse. The Irish society has an enormous amount of sophistication in a sense that they have a low living standard and the majority is rural. They provide fantastic literature, poetry, and a sense of arts. They have a very special relationship with the shopkeeper which is highly revered. The father is considered the king of the house because he's the one that owns all the land which gives him total control. The fairies are of great importance to the people because they contain a significant influence in everyday life "with the spirit world." The day to day lives of these people were revolving around the fairies and everything else such as their history and ancestry revolved around Catholicism. ...read more.

Conclusion

Enutiak organized his family and household so that they were very responsive to his orders. The traditional type of marriage was through cross-cousin marriage. His wife's name was Allaq. Enutiak was still the king of the household but he could not mistreat his wife because her family would not tolerate such behavior. Anger was a huge deal for the Utkus. In fact, even if they were irate, they were not permitted to show their anger. This did not mean that they never had feelings of resentment or hostility, but it meant that they simply could not show it. Women, even more so, were not permitted to show their anger. There was this one instance in the book where Briggs observes several Canadians borrowing a canoe and returning it broken. They showed no attempt to fix it and just walked away as if nothing had happened. Being that Briggs is from the United States, she caught up to the Canadians and brawled them out. Enutiak watched her confront them and saw how she conducted herself. From then on, Briggs's relationship with the family became much more distant. This trait of not showing anger was very unusual, but the Utkus did indeed look down upon anyone who chose to illustrate anger. One of the things about the primitive religion was that the world was one big harmony, and nothing wrong happened unless one misbehaved. In general, the primitive context is far more humane than the modern context. ...read more.

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